US-Canada Meets Again, This Time in Baseball
If you’ve ever been to an Italian’s house for dinner, you probably went home with a full belly and a big box of leftovers at the end of the night. That’s the kind of hospitality that the United States was looking for last night as it sat back and watched the Italy-Mexico game in the World Baseball Classic.
Because of a potential tie-breaker that could have come down to the wire, the U.S. needed a sizeable Mexican loss last night – and the Italians came up big, delivering a 9-1 thumping. Now, that sets up a Friday night showdown in primetime between the US and Canada at Daikin Park in Houston, TX at 8 pm ET.
This matchup on the diamond comes on the heels of the instant-classic Olympic Hockey Gold Medal games we just saw between the two countries, as the U.S. Men’s and Women’s teams won 2-1 overtime thrillers over Canada in Milan, Italy. Ironic, don’t you think?
Let’s take a look at Friday night’s matchup, and how we got to this point:
United States lucky to be alive
The whole reason the United States was in this predicament was the 8-6 loss to Italy on Tuesday night. U.S. manager Mark DeRosa faced criticism after the loss to for not knowing the exact situation the team was facing. Key players like Cal Raleigh and Bryce Harper didn’t crack the starting lineup, while some of the pitching moves were not on the level of “must win” like many Americans would have hoped.
Vinny Pasquantino might get his own espresso machine, as he hit three homers in the Italian’s rout over Mexico. Pasquantino, the standout first baseman from the Kansas City Royals is poised to have a huge year in KC’s revamped ballpark this season, which is moving the outfield walls in 10 feet. Keep that in mind for your fantasy baseball drafts in the coming weeks.
Now, in the knockout stage, it’s a win-or-go-home (back to spring training) situation for the U.S. A lot of the American players talked about the success their fellow countrymen had at the Olympics, and how they wanted to keep those wins coming. To be honest, I didn’t see that type of fire they claimed to desire but do-or-die spots are capable of providing some great performances, and that’s what we’re all hoping for our boys in the coming days.
United States-Canada olympic hockey vibes
It has been a contentious last year or so for the United States and Canada. Between trade conflicts and tariffs to hockey and baseball matchups, this rivalry with our friends to the North just keeps getting more intense.
Of course, the 2-1 overtime hockey wins at the Winter Olympics in Milan are going to be mentioned on the broadcast thousands of times, but this is the kind of competition we love in sports. Will the U.S. have a Jack Hughes or Megan Keller-like hero moment on the world stage?
A lot of the guys on the Canada roster have vast amounts of MLB experience, and this is not a team to be taken lightly. The Canadians had an impressive road here, defeating Puerto Rico (3-2) and Cuba (7-2) in its last two games.
It's worth noting, the U.S. is 4-1 lifetime against Canada at the WBC, with the lone loss coming in their first ever meeting (2006) in this competition.
The road ahead to the WBC Final
If the U.S. does emerge victorious over Canada on Friday night, they would take on the winner of the Korea-Dominican Republic game, which starts just before (6:30 p.m. ET) the main event. On Saturday, the other side of the bracket features matchups between Italy-Puerto Rico (3 p.m. ET in Houston) and Japan-Venezuela (9 p.m. ET).
According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the U.S. is favored to win the WBC as +140 favorites, with the Dominican Republic (+230) and Japan (+425) not far behind.
It’s going to be a great weekend of international competition, so get the popcorn ready and know that Opening Day is just under two weeks away. Play ball around the world!
